The article is about PC builders who are installing Win7 at the customers request, not high-street retailers where customers are not given a choice. This is not Slashdot trying to convince everyone Win8 is terrible, it's PC buyers who are rejecting it when given the option.

An anonymous reader writes: What would you do if your 12 year-old son announced that he’d like to dress up as the armor-clad Emile character from the game Halo: Reach for Hallowe’en? While many parents might just take a cursory look for a cheap, ready-made costume, that’s not what Steve Sobchyshyn did. Instead, he spent an estimated 150 hours and a couple of hundred bucks building his own from scratch. The end result, we’re sure you’ll agree, was well worth it.

An anonymous reader writes: The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has banned the sale of the game Manhunt 2 in the UK. While the original Manhunt was given an 18 certificate, the sequel, due to be released for the PS3 and Wii this summer, was denied this classification. David Cooke, director of the BBFC, explained: "There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed." The original Manhunt was mired in controversy shortly after its UK release when, in 2004, it was linked to a violent murder.

Novotny writes: The Guardian is reporting that Manhunt 2, from — predictably enough, Rockstar Games — has been banned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the first such action taken in 10 years. The last game to be banned was Carmageddon, a ruling which was subsequently overturned. Rockstar have 6 weeks in which to appeal the decision.

sm writes: Manhunt 2 has been banned in the UK. From the article: The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rejected 'Manhunt 2' on the grounds of its "casual sadism" and "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying".The game "constantly encourages visceral killing", it said.

Pcol writes: "The New York Times is running a story about a woman who says her cat is clearly visible through the living room window of her second-floor apartment using Street View and that she has contacted Google asking that the photo be removed. "The issue that I have ultimately is about where you draw the line between taking public photos and zooming in on people's lives," Ms. Kalin-Casey said in an interview. "The next step might be seeing books on my shelf. If the government was doing this, people would be outraged." Wired has started a contest on the most interesting photos found using the new Google Tool that now includes sunbathing coeds, alleged drug deals, and the google van itself. "I think that this product illustrates a tension between our First Amendment right to document public spaces around us, and the privacy interests people have as they go about their day," says Kevin Bankston, a staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Happy goldfish bowl to you, to me, to everyone, and may each of you fry in hell forever.""